A HIGH-RANKING Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) official has fallen victim to probes into the Cuban light-bulb affair.

Rodney Salmon, director of administration and corporate secretary at PCJ, has been relieved of his job, a release from the corporation said yesterday.

The decision came after the Ian Moore-chaired board convened a special board meeting yesterday to examine the auditor general's special report and the contractor general's report into the Cuban light-bulb programme.

"The board was of the opinion that officers of the PCJ had to be held accountable for the gross negligence in following the established guidelines," the PCJ release said.

The board, after deliberations, decided that three acts were breached in the implementation of the project, which cost over $276 million. These are the Petroleum Corporation Act, the Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act and the Financial Administration Act.

Fraud and money laundering

Three persons, including Kern Spencer, a former government junior minister, have been arrested on corruption, fraud and money laundering charges arising from the implementation of the project.

Also charged are Coleen Wright, who police said was employed to the PCJ as a supervisor and who was personal assistant to Spencer at the energy ministry, as well as businessman Rodney Chin.

All three are on bail and are booked to appear in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court next Wednesday.

The Cuban light-bulb project involved the replacement of incandescent bulbs with four million energy-saving bulbs, which were gifts of the Cuban government.

The auditor general and the contractor general have said Govern-ment's procurement guidelines were bypassed in the award of contracts under the programme.

Contractor General Greg Christie said a possible criminal conspiracy may have taken place with the implementation of the energy- saving project.

The light-bulb project commenced in February 2006 and lasted for 18 months. It should have resulted in monthly savings of 30,000 megawatt hours, or US$6.6 million in Jamaica's fuel import bill.